Nova

Swedish vehicle maker Volvo has received its largest-ever order for hybrid buses, a deal to supply Quebec with a huge fleet of 475 units, with an option to buy another 1,200. Volvo's Nova Bus division plans to deliver the buses in early 2014 and the buses will be distributed through Quebec's nine transportation authorities The people movers are said to get about 30 percent better fuel economy than comparable diesel vehicles.

Those of you foolish enough to follow the Autoblog Podcast know I have a soft spot for sleepers. There's just something amazing about a beaten old car secreting flawless mechanicals down below. The guys at Big Muscle have managed to track down what may very well be the queen of all sleeperdom in Dru Diesner's 1972 Chevrolet Nova The machine wears its original faded green paint, plenty of dents and dings and a very dated interior, but there's something special under the aged skin. Built with a tw

Nova Biosource announced that its Illinois-based refinery has reached the million gallons milestone after 25 days of production. The plant is expected to reach 60 million gallons of ASTM standard biodiesel per year using three processing trains, although the milestone was reached with only one. Other Nova refineries in Wisconsin and Mississippi have a single train that produces 20 million gallons each. The company's global production is estimated between 180 and 220 million gallons of biodiesel

Tuesday night the PBS science program NOVA will feature an Earth Day look at "the Car of the Future." WGBH, the Boston PBS station that produces NOVA sent us an advance copy of the show to take a look at. Tom and Ray Magliozzi, who are perhaps better known to fans of the NPR show Car Talk as Click and Clack, travel the world from Iceland to China and back to their alma mater at MIT. The "Tappet Brothers" are definitely an acquired taste and not everyone is fan of their shtick on the radio show.

Nova Biosource Fuels has two refineries that make ASTM standard biodiesel that are either up and mostly running or on the mend. The two plants, when both are working at full capacity, can make 80 million gallons of biodiesel a year. The capacity isn' quitet there yet, and Nova's eventual goal is an annual capacity of 180-200 mgpy.

The guys that make all the traditionally staid staff at NPR cringe whenever they come on the air will be making an appearance on NOVA this week. Tom and Ray Magliozzi will be going in search of the car of the future on the PBS science show on April 22 (which is, of course, Earth Day). To those of you who listen to NPR on Saturdays, Tom and Ray are more commonly known as the "comedic" mechanics Click and Clack who host Car Talk. Having heard these guys in the past, I'm not sure how much they know

Take one part NOVA (the PBS show), two parts Click and Clack, and a smattering of narrator John Lithgow and open source mentality and you've got the blueprint for the upcoming "Car of the Future" show. This program will air on public television stations in the U.S. at 8 pm on Earth Day, April 22nd (a day that will also mark AutoblogGreen's 2nd birthday). The NOVA cameras follow Tom and Ray Magliozzi (why is is never Ray and Tom?) through "showrooms, labs and test tracks on the road to perfecting

We all know the basic facts
about the DARPA Grand Challenge that pitted over 20 autonomous vehicles against each other and the elements out in the
Mojave Desert last October. After watching the NOVA special The Great
Robot Race on PBS last night the entire enterprise has taken on a whole new dynamic thanks to the excellent
backstory provided by the program that reaches all the way back to the first DARPA Grand Challenge in 2004.

Since ESPN passed on airing the DARPA Grand Challenge in its entirety last October, we’re grateful
that PBS is picking up the slack. The esoterically excellent NOVA program
will air “The Great Robot Race” tonight on PBS at 8PM EST, in which the winning VW Touareg named
“Stanley” fielded by Stanford University will be showcased along with technological innovations from the
other 22 contenders it creamed on its way to the crown.